Stuyvesant High School opened its doors in 1904 to both college-bound andvocationally oriented male students, with a course of study known as "semi-technical." Dr. Frank Rollins was the first principal. 155 boys and twelve teachers convened for the first classes on September 12, 1904 at 225 E. 23rd Street, a former annex of DeWitt Clinton High School. Later, Stuyvesant had its own annex, which was located at W. 108th Street andAmsterdam Avenue. The first yearbook, Indicator, was published in 1905, although it was not until 1908 that it became a yearbook for graduating students. The school literary magazine, Caliper, first appeared in 1909.

The cornerstone of the present building at 345 E. 15th Street was laid on September 21, 1905. The building opened its doors for the fall class of 1907. The 23rd Street building burned down that same year. The first sixty four graduates received their diplomas in January and June of 1908. The new building allowed Stuyvesant to prosper. With each succeeding year there were new teams, clubs and ideas. The orchestra, an outstanding activity of the school since the beginning, still sends more student musicians to the New York All-City High School Orchestra than any other high school.

Under Dr. Ernest R. von Nardroff, who became principal in 1909, Stuyvesant’s reputation for excellence in math and science began to develop.The first admissions requirement, a minimum scholastic average of 75 percent,was established. In 1914, Caliper was declared the best high school monthly in the United States and Spectator, the school newspaper, was first published.

By the early 1920’s Stuyvesant went on a double session, due to the increased enrollment of immigrant children thirsting for knowledge. Admission, still limited only to academically gifted boys, was determined by their scholastic record in elementary school. New courses in the physical sciences began to replace those in the mechanical arts. On the sports front, Stuyvesant beat Clinton 14-0 for the 1923 PSAL football championship, the beginning of the legendary rivalry between the two schools. Frank Hussey, soon to win a 1924 Olympic Gold Medal in sprinting, was a member of the 1923 National Championship track team.

Sinclair W. Wilson became principal in 1934. Stuyvesant’s popularity and competitiveness continued to grow, forcing a standardized admissions test to be instituted. The Bronx High School of Science, based on Stuyvesant, and with quarter of its original faculty from Stuyvesant, was founded in 1938. Its first entering class was comprised of an overflow of academically gifted students Stuyvesant could not accommodate.

John C. Clark was acting principal in 1943. Fred Schoenberg, an alumnus and former Stuyvesant teacher, followed in 1944. He reinstituted the single session in 1946 because he believed the double session deprived students of an opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities. By the late 1940’s Stuyvesant’s physical plant was approaching its fiftieth birthday and showing signs of middle age. Mr. Schoenberg, unable to convince the Board of Education to build an annex to aid the expanding Stuyvesant, did get their commitment to modernize the existing building.

In 1953, Mr. Schoenberg became Assistant Superintendent for the High School Division and Jacob Wortman became acting principal. Under him modernization began in earnest, with old foundries replaced by the east and west cafeterias and a new and expanded library built. Renovations were completed in 1957 under Dr. Leonard J. Fliedner, who became principal in 1954.

Modern and expanded facilities allowed Stuyvesant to keep pace with the latest advances in the sciences and education. New courses, student publications and extracurricular activities abounded. Stuyvesant’s domination of such programs as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search and the National Merit Scholarship grew. From the late 1950’s through the 1960’s, Stuyvesant’s Physics Department sponsored the development of a cyclotron, or atomic particle accelerator. This home made device enabled young scientists to perform experiments that were envy of many university research facilities.

The 1909 Indicator speaks of the first meeting of the Stuyvesant Alumni Association. However, the records of that organization down through the decades preceding the 1950’s are sketchy. The Stuyvesant Alumni Association and Scholarship Fund, as we know it today, was born in 1952 at Toots Shor’s Restaurant, through the efforts of Dr. Irving Fischer. It raised money with annual alumni dinners and journals, which allowed it to award a single $300 four year scholarship in 1954 and two $500 scholarships the following year. In 1957 the Alumni Association presented the portrait of Peter Stuyvesant entitled "Old Pete", which currently adorns the grand staircase leading to the second floor.

In the early 1960’s the role of student government was expanded. Graduation requirements were also toughened as competition for the best universities and colleges increased. Stuyvesant students contributed to the civil rights and the anti-Vietnam War protest movements. The Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, led by President William Canton and members Alfred Blumberg, Jack Neufeld and Jacob Wortman, enlarged on the tradition of recognizing outstanding scholars with money for college. It also made money available for school life purposes, such as funding teams and purchasing supplies and equipment.

In the mid-1960’s charges of "elitism" and "cultural bias" were leveled against Stuyvesant and the other specialized high schools. A movement to eliminate them was narrowly defeated. One positive change occurred in 1969: Stuyvesant became coeducational with the admission of fourteen young women.

In 1971 Gaspar Fabbricante of the Foreign Languages Department succeeded Dr. Fliedner’s record tenure as principal. In 1972, Jacob Wortman, a Stuyvesant institution for 47 years and the longest tenured teacher in New York City, retired. He has not retired, though, from his involvement with the school and its alumni, and today is still active in Stuyvesant affairs.

Female students permitted more theatrical and coeducational events, as well as the first female Stuyvesant cheerleading squads. Student plays no longer relied on Julia Richman, Hunter or Washington Irving High Schools for female cast members. Sing, a student produced original musical presentation, was first performed in 1973. Coed dance class became an elective gym course. The Alumni Association, which had entered a state of dormancy, was reborn through the efforts of Drs. Alfred Ling and Sheldon Preschel. Formal awards banquets were held from 1975 to 1979 to honor distinguished graduates and raise money for the school.

Beginning in the late 1970’s the student body, once predominantly white and all male, reflected the changes in the ethnic and immigrant makeup of the city as large numbers of Afro-American, Asian, and Hispanic students came to Stuyvesant. The student gender mix also changed, with almost half now female. This required massive physical changes in the school, such as new lavatories, locker rooms and gymnasiums.

Kenneth Tewel was acting principal in 1982. Dr. Abraham Baumel, a former Chairman of the Stuyvesant Physics Department, and most recently Principal of New Dorp High School, succeeded him in 1983. A crowning achievement marking Stuyvesant’s place in academic excellence occurred in the 1988 Westinghouse Science Talent Search where Stuyvesant placed an unbelievable 47 semifinalists and the first and second place winners, a record never before accomplished. Not to be outdone, Pegleg athletes, led by the wrestling team, won several championships during the decade. Academic teams also captured numerous titles, with the Debating Team dominating the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Series and being crowned National Forensic Champions in 1987.

By the late 1970’s, the competition by academically gifted students seeking admission to Stuyvesant and the other specialized high schools became desperate. It became apparent that the current building, already among the oldest New York City school buildings in continuous use, was unable to meet this challenge.

In the early 1980’s a coalition of concerned parents, alums and faculty set out to find a suitable location for a new Stuyvesant. A site offered by the Battery Park City Authority at Chambers and West Streets, near City Hall and the financial and business heart of the city, was selected. Ideas for the new building were solicited, from alumni, students, parents and faculty. It is a testimony to Stuyvesant that this coalition enjoyed such intimate involvement. Construction began in 1988, with the long awaited move to Stuyvesant’s new home scheduled for September, 1992.

Throughout Stuyvesant’s long and illustrious history, the Alumni Association has served as a strong, yet fine thread, invisibly binding together the school and its graduates. In November, 1984, six hundred alums returned for an All Classes Reunion to honor the school on its eightieth birthday. Robert Pam was elected President of a newly rejuvenated Alumni Association. Evelyn Krejci is the current President of the Alumni Association. There are currently over 2,500 paid members and over 20,000 names on the mailing list. The number of Alumni Association scholarships has grown from fifteen to twenty five and the amount from $300 to $400. Larger scholarships are planned for the future to keep pace with the growing need and cost of a college education.

Today, the Alumni Association is stronger and more vital than ever. It has sponsored two highly successful general reunions and provided both financial aid and administrative assistance to over a dozen class reunions in the past seven years. The Alumni Association supports the school, its students and the community by providing ever increasing financial aid and a network of resources, at a time when other sources are becoming scarcer. Its future effectiveness, like that of Stuyvesant itself, depends on the commitment and involvement of the next generation of students and alumni.

The following is a collection of other material that describe present day Stuyvesant.

Today, Stuyvesant and other specialized high schools selects its students by competitive examination. As many as 16,000 students are tested each year and approximately 800 are accepted.

In September 1992, a multimillion dollar building was completed in Battery Park City for Stuyvesant High School. The complex contains 12 laboratories, 12 shops (including robotics, energy, digitally controlled machines, etc.), and more than 450 computers in 13 networks -- each student and teacher has individual access to the network. There is a 26" color monitor in each classroom, with 50 channels of communication, a satellite dish antenna, etc. Although the school fields 30 athletic teams, neither football, baseball fields, nor tennis courts exist. Despite these limitations our teams have won as many as two-thirds of their Divisional Championships.

The student body represents virtually every socioeconomic level of the city and has a degree of independence and creativity which is unusual. Three Nobel Laureates as well as a host of leaders in science, mathematics, government, law, the arts, and music are included among the graduates. Students travel from all parts of the City to the school which is situated at the northern end of Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan. We now have a magnificent view of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the New York Harbor. Our students use all the facilities of the City for their education. Each year, hundreds of them are engaged in advanced research work in all the universities, laboratories and hospitals throughout the five boroughs. Similarly, the athletic teams use fields in Central Park (for baseball), tennis courts at Flushing Meadows, and practice fields near the school for football.